1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to power supplies and more particularly to a portable solar power supply having a solar-powered charger and a rechargeable battery with one or more electrochemical cells.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, a rechargeable battery is a common power source for various portable consumer electronic products, such as mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras, music players, etc. For charging the rechargeable battery, a specific charger is required to convert AC power from an outlet into DC and supply same thereto. When external power is inaccessible, charging is impossible. And in turn, the electronic device employing the rechargeable battery as a power source is inoperative when the battery is low.
For solving this problem, many types of portable solar power supply (so called “power pack”) have been developed. By using a portable solar power supply, a user can charge his/her electronic device anywhere he/she goes when such need arises.
Conventionally, a portable solar power supply is comprised of a rechargeable battery and a control circuit that are disposed in a housing. The commercial portable solar power supplies are provided with different battery capacities. While a portable solar power supply having a small capacity is usually compact and light in weight, its operating time is limited. To the contrary, a portable solar power supply having a large capacity can serve for a relatively long period of time but it is bulky and less portable. In addition, life time of the conventional rechargeable batteries is subject to frequency of use. Further, once the typical battery becomes poor in performance or is broken, the whole power supply is no longer usable.
Thus, the need for improvement still exists.